Invite, Invest, Inspire - How to protect your company culture

Chris Raethke

Part 3: Caring is Sharing

Inspire: Create a Community Where People Care About One Another

There is something to be said about a workplace environment where coworkers can express appreciation for their team members. When people feel comfortable, magic happens. Creativity flows, innovation peaks and results are produced. Some companies with a strong work community are Toyota, Pixar, Zappos, Twitter and so on.

To me, a business productivity boils down to functioning in a fast and fluid manner, which gives companies a leg up on their competitors. Unsurprisingly, happiness leads to higher productivity, so it is worth the investment to create an environment of care and positivity. Get some AstroTurf in your office if that's what it'll take! A company focused on facilitating employee happiness is one with lower turnover and better company performance.

How did we create a work community?

This is where the idea of leadership comes into play. The idea is not to show everyone else how to be happy, but to create an engaged and distributed level of management. You have to engage your team to use their initiative to build this community.

Does that seem a bit abstract?

In short, you encourage people to explore the community you've organized and only intervene when appropriate.

You might even find another business opportunity though this community because everyone is encouraged to collaborate.

But before people feel this open, there must also be an atmosphere of trust and transparency.

Cultivating this trust and transparency comes from an open and welcoming company culture. This is why it is always best to structure your company culture around your values and your mission. Concepts that are clear and unchanging, regardless of the product or the service offered, help you stay committed as a company. It's basically like your personality.

Happiness is the Notiv culture

"Optimize for smiles" one of my many slogans to spark a good feeling within the company. From experience, I've found that happy people who feel supported are the most productive. After all, life is short and if we’re not all smiling, what are we doing here? As a result, we make sure everything we do brings a smile to our customers, our team and the community. Above all, our goal is to build a home of happy, humble and healthy human beings.

In the long run and in an ideal world your team is essentially your second family. Somewhere where you can simply be people together and create something meaningful. A place where you can make mistakes, ask for help, succeed, fail, and innovate. Above all, a place where you can smile.